


What comes after

by Anonymous



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Eventual Romance, Future Fic, M/M, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-04-29 02:32:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14463105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Linong looked around from his place on the second seat. The stage lights upon them put strain on his eyes. It was beginning to sink in.This is gonna be my group. I think I can make it work.Linong would learn soon enough.





	1. Chapter 1

  
Linong fidgeted in his seat for what seemed like the longest meeting he had ever been in. A few days after the competition ended, the company reps of every trainee had to have a sit-down to discuss the future of the group together. Cai Xukun being an individual trainee had to attend by himself and soon all the other members of Nine Percent we're dragged in. He had never seen Yanjun so focused. Zhangjing was speedily writing on his notepad whenever something piqued his interest. Xiao gui and Ziyi too were listening in; offering a small nod or an eyebrow raise. Zhu Zhengting, however, was the only Yuehua trainee present.

"Jia and Chengcheng are still in Bangkok for a photoshoot." Said the Yuehua company representative.

Linong was staring intently at one corner of the whiteboard. He hoped that his agent would take care of everything. The meeting faded into backround noise as he tuned it all out.  
_Gege will speak up for me._ He thought.

"I will try to prioritize the group's activities over my solo gigs," Xukun offered. "But if I can't be with the group for an event, someone has to stand in as center."

Every person in the room fixed their eyes on Linong. Linong, who was still staring at the whiteboard, was completely oblivious to their stares. That is, until he was elbowed by Zhangjing from the side.

"Eiiii, what was that for!?" Linong suddely said. He then noticed the people staring at him and heard his agent say:

"Our Linong will fill in for Cai Xukun because he is ranked second. It _is_ a show based on rank, remember!?"

He was shocked at what his agent was saying. Compared to Xukun, Linong knew that he wasn't up to par with his dancing and facial expressions.

  
"We don't have to-," Linong started to protest. But, he was cut off by the sounds of agreement by the other company representatives.

 _I'm screwed_.

The IQIYI representative went over the plans and the meeting was soon adjourned.

* * *

A week after...

"What do you mean America!?" Linong exclaimed. The sun was barely up but Linong was fully awake. His agent had gone to his hotel room in a rush and told him to pack his bags. Their flight was this afternoon.

  
"This is why I always tell you to listen when there are important meetings!" His agent scolded him like a child.

Linong was crestfallen. He thought he would be allowed to go back to Taiwan and take a short break. Apparently, the show was more popular than was anticipated so everything is now going at full speed.

He was also plagued with four months worth of schoolwork that he missed. Safe to say that Linong had his work cut out for him.

 

 

Hours later, Linong arrived at the PEK airport with only a few articles of clothing as his luggage was packed haphazardly. At the layover in South Korea, Linong decided to explore the stores with Zhangjing.

"You Zhangjing, what have you done?" Linong said, trying to hold in his laughter.

Zhangjing had poured hot water into what was supposed to be saucy noodles and made it like soup. They both couldn't read the Korean characters on the packaging. Despite the situation, they both found it in themselves to laugh out loud.

"Let's just go to the lounge. They have complementary food there." Zhangjing suggested.

 

 

Nothing could have prepared them for their arrival to the airport. The other members did literally ran through the swarm of fans. Chengcheng, Xiao Gui, and Linong were stuck in the middle of the crowd. It was like a battlefield and they were being attacked on all sides; not by weapons but by cameras.

Linong noticed that the fans were getting in between him and Xiao Gui in front of him. So, he did what was logical to do at that time. He engulfed his tinier groupmate in sort of a backhug so they would not be separated. Truth be told, Linong was never close to Xiao Gui because they were never on the same team throughout the competition.

 _I'm sorry Xiao Gui._ Linong thought as they squeezed their way through the sea of people.

* * *

 

When they finally _finally_ got to their hotel, the staff told them their room assignments. The staff prepared three rooms on the same floor for the group to use. The members were divided as follows: Yuehua in the first room, Banana+Ziyi in the second room and Linong with Xukun and Xiao Gui in the third. Linong really wanted to room with the Banana trainees but their staff put him in the same room as Xukun for reasons.

With heavy eyelids and sluggish movements, Linong went to sleep in one of the beds in their shared hotel room. He fell forward on the bed and then blacked out. He didn't even bother to change out of his plane outfit.

He was awakened when he felt someone else's leg positioned on his waist.

"...huh?" Linong was confused. Somebody was beside him. He couldn't reach his phone because the leg had immobilized him.

 _Who is this guy?_  He thought as he forcefully shook off the leg from his waist. The figure stirred but eventually fell asleep again. Linong finally had the chance to lie on his side and see who he was sharing a bed with.

"Kunkun..." Linong said quietly. He thought a lot about the meeting they had a week before. It was no secret that a lot of iKuns wanted solo work from Xukun. Linong might have to substitute his center position more often than he thought.

_Could I really fill in the shoes of this person?_

 

_Xukun is so talented. So amazing. Center-Material._

 

He stared at Xukun's sleeping face. It was pretty wide and round. His skin was good too. He reached out to touch Xukun's cheek but stopped himself before he could.

 _What am I doing?_  He thought. He stared at the ceiling, contemplating until sleep overcame him once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of their Los Angeles trip. Linong encounters a small problem.

 

Los Angeles proved to be a blur. An exhausting, very stressful blur. 

 

Linong was currently catching his breath. His bangs were stuck to his forehead from sweat. They had been dancing for almost a day. And the day before that, and the day before as well. In the final stretch of their Los Angeles trip, if you could call it that, most of their time was devoted to dance rehearsals and recordings. As agreed upon on the first company meeting, Linong would take the center position whenever Xukun wasn't present in an event. Linong had to learn a few extra movements to fulfill this role. He was to be coached by Xukun himself.

 

"Nongnong, during this chorus, you should go down faster than the others." Xukun said as he demonstrated the swift turns in the EiEi choreography. "Now, you try."

 _Here goes nothing._ Linong did it the way he saw Xukun do it. He succeeded but with it was slightly off-beat. He readied himself for Xukun's careful scrutiny. Linong was not a natural dancer. His audition piece for Idol Producer had taken him a month to memorize and polish. Even then, it wasn't really anything special. 

"This is what you're doing wrong. You have to fix your feet position. Widen your stance." Xukun wedged his own foot between Linong's feet to separate them. This caught Linong off-guard. He nearly fell on his face before Xukun grabbed him by the waist and helped him keep his balance.

"Whoa, strengthen your core!" Xukun raised his voice little. At this, Linong felt his face heat up a little. How could he take the center spot when he was like this?

 _This is so embarrassing. I feel like a total newbie._ Linong scolded himself. He mumbled a quick apology and continued trying.

Xukun noticed the sudden silence of the other.

"Nongnong, this isn't an easy job, I know. But it means a lot to me that you are willing to do this. You'll get it in no time." Linong felt Xukun softly patting his back. His face was heating up again but for an entirely different reason.

 

_It's that feeling again._

* * *

 

He remembered their visit to Universal Studios. The day so far had been pretty enjoyable. He, Yanjun and Zhangjing were looking at the Harry Potter wands display. The two were his closest friends in his new group. They were people that he could talk easily to. It was a shame he couldn't room with them. Ziyi had to room with them because he need help improving his vocals and Linong needed help with his dancing.

"Lin Yanjun! Look at this." He gestured to the wands and even picked up one of them. Him and Yanjun shared an interest in the book series. Linong was content to spend the day with his two friends but the staff told them to divide into two groups. Zhangjing, Yanjun, Zhengting, Chengcheng and Xiao Gui were placed into the rides group. The rest had to play to win prizes and go inside a haunted house.

 

The haunted house was unremarkable. Then again, Linong had never been easy to scare so his group breezed through it. They made their way to the games stalls and tried their luck in winning a few prizes. They collectively got a minion plushie and a minion printed ball. Linong was beginning to wonder if this was Minionland. Xiao Gui and Ziyi walked ahead of the group so they wouldn't get crowded by the fans. That left Xukun and Linong to stick together. Linong was also given one of the mini cameras to film their activities. He was currently being toyed with by Xukun.

"Try and get the ball!" Xukun was rolling the ball in different directions and making Linong chase after it. He quickly gave up and clutched the Minion plushie in his hands tighter. 

 

Everything was going well. Xukun even shared his drink with him. The way Xukun's face grimaced when he got a taste of the drink made Linong chuckle a little.

"Why did you buy it if you didn't like the flavor?" Linong asked, taking the Minion shaped container from Xukun. He couldn't stop smiling at the other's misfortune.

"Because it's cute!" Xukun exclaimed,

This caused a slight crinkle in Linong's heart. _You're the one that's cute._

Xukun handed him the drink and left to talk to Ziyi. Linong took a big gulp of the drink as he contemplated. He stared at the direction Xukun went and admired his features. Xukun wasn't very tall but he wasn't tiny either. His skin was seriously pale and his facial features were quite unique.

If you think about it, a person as perfect as Cai Xukun shouldn't exist. But he does and he is constantly in close proximity with Linong. This fact both delighted and terrified Linong.

 Chen Linong wasn't as innocent as the show made him out to be. He had his fair share of life experiences. He's had a chance to earn his own money from modelling stints. He had two relationships to date; both of them were girls his age. He hadn't dabbled into the other playing field, so to speak.

Cai Xukun was an extremely attractive individual. Linong was almost offended. He was feeling _things_ for the other boy. Whether these _things_ extended past a fleeting attraction was still unknown to Linong. But what's for certain is he had to stop himself before he gets caught up.

* * *

 

 

Fast forward to the present where Xukun and Linong were still in the dance studio, still perfecting the dance for the substitution to be successful. They had been practicing for hours. 

"I think it's time to call it a day." Said Xukun. "Let's go to the lockers."

Both of them had a quick shower and went to change in the locker rooms. But there was one problem.

 

"Nongnong, I don't think I brought a clean shirt. Do you have any extras?" Xukun said, walking towards Linong.

 

"Kunkun, I-" Linong was speechless when he realized that Xukun was beside him, topless and slightly damp.

 

_Calm down, Linong. Calm down._

 

"Uh.. yeah, here." He handed Xukun a shirt as fast as he could. 

 

"Thanks." Xukun put the shirt on and Linong wasn't prepared for the sight that came next.

 

It was Cai Xukun swamped in _his_ shirt. He looked so small. Linong for the second time today felt a little squeeze in his heart. He couldn't handle the duality that was Cai Xukun.

 

 _Goodness, Cai Xukun is dangerous._ Linong didn't know if his heart could hold up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love it if you commented.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Comment if you want more!


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